SunStroke Project
SunStroke Project was a Moldovan band act from JayGT: Fantasy Sequel. They were eliminated in the Quarterfinals. SunStroke Project returned to JayGT: Redemption Island, where they were again eliminated in the Judge Cuts. Background The SunStroke Project is a Moldovan musical trio composed of Sergei Yalovitsky (vocals), Anton Ragoza (violinist and composer) and Sergey Stepanov (saxophonist). They are famous for representing Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 together with Olia Tira and also in 2017. The name of the group was chosen by Anton Ragoza whilst working in the army with Sergey Stepanov, where out on the field he got sunstroke. On 25 February 2017, SunStroke Project was selected once more to represent Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Hey, Mamma!", and finished in third place after qualifying for the final on 9 May. In November 2010 the producer, Aleksei Myslitsky and some other members (including song authors) left SunStroke Project to create a new band in Moscow called Offbeat Orchestra who have performed and released versions of some of the songs by SunStroke Project. Anton Ragoza was born on 6 January 1986 in Tiraspol, Transnistria. He is the violinist and primary musical composer for the band. Previously he has conducted the orchestra of Chișinău and won a series of prestigious awards in the field of classical music. Anton has a wide experience in performing in bands which play in the modern electronic genre. He identified Justin Timberlake and Michael Jackson as musical inspirations. Sergey Stepanov is the saxophonist. He was born on 3 September 1984 in Tiraspol, Transnistria. He currently lives in Chișinău, Moldova. His musical taste took contours on the music of artists such as David Sanborn and Eric Marienthal; and modern DJs like David Guetta, David Vendetta and Tiësto. He loves jazz though he also likes to experiment in vocal house, pop and R&B. He met Ragoza while in the army, and decided to create the band SunStroke Project. In an interview at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, he identified Russian saxophonist Igor Butman as his musical inspiration. Sergei Yalovitsky is the vocalist of the band. He previously worked as a singer on cruise lines. He has won various awards for singing in Moldova and Romania. Sergey Stepanov's saxophone solo in the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest for the song "Run Away" became famous across the Internet in a meme known as "Epic Sax Guy" or "Saxroll". The remixes of his saxophone solo have millions of hits on YouTube. In December 2010 SunStroke Project appeared on Moldovan TV programme Sare şi piper and sang a song titled "Epic Sax", named after the meme. The phrase "Epic Sax Guys" forms part of the lyrics of the SunStroke Project's single "Superman", when they unsuccessfully attempted to represent Moldova in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest. Stepanov himself acknowledges of his viral fame playing the Run Away saxophone riff when the group was interviewed during the first semi-finals of the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SunStroke_Project Judge Cuts SunStroke Project's Judge Cuts performance in Episode FS04 consisted of performing their song "Run Away". JayDK, guest judge Smack, Pennies, and Usagi gave them standing ovations. Impressed with their performance, Usagi hit the Golden Buzzer, sending them straight into the Quarterfinals. Quarterfinals SunStroke Project's Quarterfinals performance in Episode FS08 consisted of performing their song "Hey Mamma". SunStroke Project did not receive enough votes to be sent to the Semifinals, eliminating them from the competition along with Joan Jett, instead of Daler Mehndi. RI Qualifier Vegas Round RI Judge Cuts Category:Acts Category:Bands Category:FS Acts Category:FS Bands Category:Golden Buzzer Acts Category:FS Golden Buzzer Acts Category:Usagi's Golden Buzzers Category:Quarterfinalists Category:FS Quarterfinalists Category:Guest Performers Category:FS Guest Performers Category:Eurovision Contestants Category:Acts Appearing in Multiple Seasons Category:RI Acts Category:RI Bands Category:Accepted Acts Category:RI Accepted Acts